What are the implications of the Israeli government's decision to declare the Gaza Strip an 'enemy entity'. Dr. Meir Rosenne, a former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. and France and a prominent jurist, told IsraCast that Israel like every other country is duty bound to defend its citizens and is not in violation of international law. Rosenne also said that Iranian president Ahmadinejad, who calls openly for Israel's destruction, should never have received a visa to visit the U.S.

'There is no doubt that Israel's declaration of the Gaza Strip to be enemy territory is a legitimate act of self-defense' that's the view of Dr. Meir Rosenne a leading Israeli jurist. Rosenne told IsraCast that the first obligation of a state is to defend its citizens. But drawing on his experience as a senior Israeli diplomat, Rosenne said don't expect international fora such as the United Nations to make an objective assessment when it comes to the Jewish state. For example, although Israel has been repeatedly attacked from Gaza even the International Court of Justice has ruled that Article 51 of the U.N.'s right to self-defense did not apply to Israel because Gaza is not a state. This line of reasoning would mean that all the U.S. actions against al Qaeda after 9/11 would also be illegal. In fact, Hamas which now rules Gaza is a terror organization that claims to care for social needs and was in fact elected by the local population.

The Hamas charter states very clearly that Israel has no legitimate right to exist and should be destroyed. After Israel's total withdrawal from Gaza two years ago, terrorists in Gaza have continually rocketed Israel while the Jewish state continues to supply Gaza with electricity, fuel and humanitarian aid such as food, drugs and water. In spite of the terrorism that kills and wounds Israelis, Israel has limited its counter - terror operations to military action. The government decision now authorizes civilian sanctions as well. Rosenne said: 'Israel supplies electricity to the Palestinians who send it back to us as rockets- that's just too much'!

At the same time, the government also decided that a minimum of hardship should be imposed on th civilian population. (Israeli officials have said that the Hamas administration in Gaza has 'outsourced' the rocketing of Israel to the Islamic Jihad while Hamas sticks to firing mortar across the border).

Meir Rosenne took issue with the American decision to grant a visa to Iranian President Ahmadinejad to address the upcoming U.N. General assembly. By calling for Israel's destruction and developing nuclear weapons for that purpose, Ahmadinejad was flagrantly violating the U.N. Charter- it was not a question of free speech but encouraging terrorism and genocide.

In any case, after the Palestinians launched thousands of rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel, the Israeli government has officially declared Gaza to be 'enemy territory'. Meanwhile, in New York they're about to roll out the red carpet for Iranian President Ahmadinejad who preaches genocide. Iran's leader is due to address the U.N. General Assembly dedicated to the pursuit of world peace - he has also been invited to address Columbia University in the interests of ' free speech'.